Saving Samuel

Life gave Samuel a very poor start. Orphaned and destitute, Samuel wandered the streets of Dembi Dollo, Ethiopia, in search of someone that might care about him. He found shelter in the local hospital, begging for scraps from patients and visitors.

Medical staff gave him medication for the HIV/Aids he had been born with, but with no regular food, the disease and the medicines were killing him. Little Samuels’s life was slowly ebbing away.

But there was someone who cared. Learning about his plight, Stand by Me accepted Samuel into their care and support programme in Dembi Dollo. Samuel’s life changed!

In school, with plenty of nutritious food and surrounded by friends, Samuel is thriving. He now has dreams and security. Samuel, above, standing tall and proud in his school uniform, knows that he has been saved and is a very grateful boy, giving thanks to the God he is just finding out about.